San Isidro de Penas Blancas La fortuna Alajuela, Pocosol, Chachagua, Costa Rica | (586) 210-9239
A secluded farm hotel in the middle of the rainforest
Secluded setting feels a world away from the La Fortuna tourist hustle
Farm supplies the restaurant with fresh vegetables and free-range meat
Breakfast included
Casas are spacious and rustic, with good views of the forest
Dedication to holistic living show up in every aspect of the businesses
The observatory tower is a great place to spot local birds and wildlife
Tons of wildlife in the surrounding rainforest, which abuts a huge national wildlife preserve
Wi-Fi limited to the lobby, restaurant, and Casa Luna building
Inconveniently far from La Fortuna and its tourist-focused amenities
Not much for a tourist to do in the nearby town of San Isidro de Penas Blancas
Requires traveling down a 2.5-kilometer gravel road riddled with potholes to reach
Individual Bungalows have views of ground-level rainforest, but not much else
Restaurant doesn't serve alcohol (pro for some)
No TVs or AC in rooms (pro for some)
This 13-room farm-hotel is in a league of its own for Arenal-area agritourism, and is well-suited to travelers interested in sustainable organic farming amid the rainforest. It's at least a 30-minute drive away from La Fortuna, making it inconvenient for those looking to explore off property. Rooms are large but relatively spartan, without TV and air-conditioning, but the guests who love birding and farming often don't seem to mind. Hotel El Silencio del Campo also has a working farm, but nicer rooms with TV and AC -- though it lacks Fina Luna Nueva's secluded rainforest setting.
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Scene
A farm hotel dedicated to saving the rainforest, with a mellow collection of large plantation houses and small bungalows
Finca Luna Nueva Lodge is a hotel where the 200-plus-acre farm takes precedence, not the other way around. This shows in every aspect of a stay here, from the free-range pigs and water buffalo you might come face to face with on one of the trails (don't worry, they're behind lightly electrified fencing), the free daily tour of the farm, where on-staff guide Ishmael explains the hotel's eco-conscious philosophy, or the paid chocolate tour that takes you from the grove of cacao plants on the farm to the drying and roasting to the final, sweet product. The truly serious enroll in the farm's international sustainable-farming internship program, which hosts young people from North America and Europe who learn about Finca Luna's Earth-first farming practices for three months at a time. The hotel is centered around the dining
area by the pool, where the staff members take their family meals when the
place isn't filled with guests, and around the two large, plantation-style, two-story casas
where some of the guests rooms are -- Casa Luna and
Casa Sombra. The guests (Americans, Europeans, and
locals, including families and newlywed couples) and laid-back staff
(similarly both tico and international) hang out in the open
dining area, swapping stories and comparing notes on which rare birds
they've spotted in the course of the day, or in the common areas with great views below the casas. Guests here range from casual eco tourists looking for a rainforest experience to serious scientists and students. Everyone should come away with a deeper understanding of food production, as the restaurant meals, from salad greens to pork chops, come fresh from the farm (the animals often picked and slaughtered by the interns).
Location
The lodge is 30 to 45 minutes away from La Fortuna on a long, bumpy road, but birders and those who want the experience of living on a working sustainable farm in the middle of the rainforest appreciate the secluded locale.
The hotel sits about 30 to 45 minutes away
from La Fortuna (depending on traffic and weather), and must be accessed by a bumpy, two-and-a-half-kilometer
gravel road that's riddled with potholes. It's too far away to be easily accessible to people coming to the Arenal region for the usual adventure touring or volcano sightseeing. The nearby town is a small, one-stop stretch with a small restaurant and a couple convenience stores, and doesn't offer anything in the way of tourist attractions. Once you're finally past
the gates, though, you're far from the traffic of the highway, and
feel like you're finally truly secluded in the midst of the rainforest -- the property abuts a massive national
wildlife preserve, and that's reflected in the wealth of exotic
animals in the branches of the surrounding forest.
Rooms
Rustic, no-frills rooms lack TV and air-conditioning.
Depending on where you're staying, rooms range from modest to spacious. Individual Bungalows have claustrophobia-inducing views of the ground-level rainforest and a cut-in of earth, and Family Bungalows have two bedrooms and a living room but can feel cramped with several people. The rooms in the Casa Luna and Casa Sombra are high-ceilinged and have lofty views of the surrounding rainforest. All rooms have some pleasant rustic details, such as wood walls, ceilings, and floors (Casa Luna and Cosa Sombra rooms are decked out head to toe in wood). Modern comforts that are now standard in most hotel rooms are missing -- in most cases, expect a ceiling fan instead of AC, no fridge or safe, and definitely no TV (the hotel is focused on promoting guests' connection to nature, not Hollywood). A few guests have complained of water temperature in the showers not getting hot enough. The main lodge offers free Wi-Fi and the signal reaches some of the Casa Luna rooms, which are attached to the reception area by a covered walkway, but the location means these rooms can be a bit noisier. The tradeoff is convenience, however, as some rooms are a bit of a walk away from the main hub.
Features
It's all about nature and eco-consciousness, from the international internship program in sustainable farming to the free daily farm walks to the optional chocolate tour and rainforest trails.
The lodge offers multiple tours, including free daily two-hour tours of the farm, during which guests will get to taste plants from the organic garden and meet the farm's pigs, goats, and chickens (just don't get too attached, as they may show up on your plate for dinner). The rest of the tours are for a fee and are open to guests and non-guests alike: subjects include the farm's cocao plants (visitors learn how they are processed into chocolate), the Sacred Seeds Sanctuary (the hotel's garden of medicinal plants), and of course, the rainforest -- there are guided hikes of varying levels of difficulty, a night hike, and a birding expedition. Note that some tours are only offered if enough people are interested and the guides are available. A number of activities through off-site vendors can also be arranged, from zip-lining to horseback riding. The lodge also has a focus on wellness, evidenced by the large, open-air yoga platform and the full-service spa with bamboo treatment huts. The restaurant serves all three meals (important, given the secluded location) and the free breakfast includes fresh juice and coffee, whole wheat bread, homemade jam, farm-made cheese, traditional Costa Rican dishes, and eggs. Note that no alcohol is served, but there are a variety of healthy smoothies on offer. There are a pool and hot tub with adjacent plastic lounge chairs. Wi-Fi is available in the main lodge.
